260 



SCIENCE. 



[N. S. Vol. XXI. Xo. 529. 



tar, glue, molasses, lime, asphalt and 

 cement, all of which have practically been 

 abandoned. 



The method here used is to mix the fine 

 materials with soft coal in varying propor- 

 tions of from 12| per cent, to 50 per cent, 

 by weight, and then coke the coal. The 

 coal in coking thoroughly incorporates the 

 fine materials, and when charged into the 

 furnace carries them down beyond where 

 they can be carried over mechanically by 

 the blast, and down to the zone of reduction 

 or fusion, making a self-fueling and in 

 many instances a self-fluxing ore. The 

 plan is applicable at any plant running 

 three or more stacks, or wherever the by- 

 product ovens are used, or wherever the 

 coke is made at or near the furnace. 



INORGANIC CHEMISTRY. 



James L. Howe, chairman. 

 The Effect of Water on Rock Powders: 



A. S. CUSHMAN. 



The results of investigations on the effect 

 of water on rock powders, which have been 

 earned on in the Division of Tests of the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture, were 

 given. It has been found that wet grinding 

 increases the binding power or tendency 

 of the particles to cement together. This 

 effect seems to be accompanied with direct 

 decomposition of certain constituents of 

 the rock magma, which results in forming 

 colloidal films on the particles. The word 

 'pectoid' is suggested to describe this con- 

 dition. Most rock powdei-s that have been 

 ground wet show an alkaline reaction to 

 indicators, but if the water is filtered out 

 the reaction is not usually shown. This ob- 

 servation is in line with the well-established 

 fact that coagulated inorganic colloids have 

 the power of occluding the bases from solu- 

 tions of neutral salts. The analogy be- 

 tween the reactions that take place when 

 Portland cement, powdered glass and rock 



povvders are acted on by water was pointed 

 out. 



On the Complexity of Thorium: Fritz 

 Zerban. 



The work done by Chas. Baskerville on 

 the elementary nature of thorium w^as re- 

 peated under similar conditions and his 

 results were confirmed. 



In addition, the acetylacetonates of the 

 three new constituents were prepared ac- 

 cording to Biltz's method. The three sub- 

 stances obtained show all the same melting 

 point, viz., 171° C. ; by mixing them to- 

 gether, the melting point is not lowered. 

 (Biltz made similar observations in the 

 cases of neodymium and praseodymium.) 

 But the acetylacetonates of berzelium, caro- 

 linium and new thorium differ in their 

 chemical behavior towards alcohol. De- 

 terminations of the atomic weight which 

 were carried out with the acetylacetonates 

 by Biltz's method, assuming the formula 

 Me(C5H702)4, resulted in 225 for berze- 

 lium and 239 for carolinium. 



The metanitrobenzoates of carolinium, 

 berzelium and new thorium, prepared by 

 Neish's method, could not be obtained in 

 crystalline form. 



Thorium from Brazilian monazite sand 

 was fractioned into three constituents in 

 the same way previously applied to thorium 

 from North Carolina monazite sand ; the 

 percentage of berzelium and carolinium, 

 however, appeared to be smaller. 



0)1 the Detection of Hydronitric Acid 

 (Did Hydrazine in their Inorganic Com- 

 pounds: A. W. Browne. 

 A blood-red coloration is produced when 

 ferric chloride is added in excess to a 

 neutral or very slightly acid aqueous solu- 

 tion containing free hydronitric acid or its 

 salts, or holding in suspension the compar- 

 atively insoluble lead, silver and mercurous 

 compounds.* The color is destroyed by 



* See Dennis and Browne, Jour. Am. Chem. 

 yS'oc, 26, 577 (1904). 



